Democratic state senator says he will take his case to appeals court

Capitol bureau

Published 12:00 am, Friday, December 17, 2010

ALBANY -- Six weeks after voters went to the polls, the last remaining contested state Senate race inched closer to its apparent conclusion late Wednesday night, when an appellate division court rebuffed Sen. Craig Johnson's quest for a hand recount in Long Island's 7th District.

On Thursday morning, Johnson said he was headed to the state Court of Appeals to settle the question of whether a candidate should get a recount if voting machine results are questioned. This year's vote marked the first time that statewide voting was carried out on optical-scan devices that read and physically store ballots.

"While I am disappointed that our request for a hand recount was not granted ... the appellate court itself admitted that many new questions regarding the laws governing this process have been raised and the Court of Appeals is the appropriate place to decide them," Johnson, D-Nassau, said in a statement. "I agree."

There are 451 votes in question, less than 1 percent of the votes cast. A hand recount could take weeks to conduct, depending on the number of challenges to individual ballots.

Senate Republicans remained eager for their candidate, Jack Martins, to move into the Senate seat and provide them with their all-important 32nd vote, securing their majority in the chamber.

"This contest has gone on long enough, and now that every vote has been counted, Craig Johnson should do the right thing and allow for a smooth and orderly transition," the GOP said in a prepared statement.